Haunted House
by cat'n'mouse
Summary: Ritsu's determined to be happy, Mugi vanishes without a trace, and Mio's seeing ghosts, but surely, they wouldn't leave her behind, would they?
1. Chapter 1

**Haunted House**

**Title: **Haunted House  
><strong>Author: <strong>Cat'n'mouse  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>fluff  
><strong>Theme:<strong> Angst/Friendship  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> Character deaths  
><strong>Pairings: <strong>MioRitsu (not really romance more like bromance-ish?)  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own anything to do with K-ON. I am not selling this fic. I am making no profits  
><strong>Summary:<strong> There is a crack. It splits past the empty house, down the dusty room and past the aged guitars. It splits the silence into Ritsu's laughter; Yui's whines; Azusa's protests. It splits Mio in half.

* * *

><p>Chapter One: Forethought<p>

There is a house.

It's empty but warm and free of the usual residing family. Flowers dot the lawn in freckles, and the picket fence falls beneath the pressure of an overgrown bush. It still smells of love and of the last cooked meal. It smells of an intruder's new scent that blots the air.

There is a crack.

It splits down the wall in the bedroom, where a knife stabs into a photograph. The paper wrinkles and breaks where the blade connects but refuses fall, and the girls within sit on that flower freckled lawn, one grinning, the other looking at her hands. The crack splits them in half.

It runs down the wall, past the photo and away from the room. It follows its own path, seeking but not finding. It reaches downstairs.

It splits into a girl.

There is a crack.

It's splitting the girl in half, separating her senses and her mind. It parts the subconscious and the conscious, her memories from reality. The subconscious keeps her functioning, keeps her eating, drinking. It takes her walking every day, to the house, to the flower freckled lawn.

There is a house, there is a crack, and there is a girl. There is a crack in the house, in the girl.

There is a crack in Akiyama Mio.

* * *

><p><strong>This is part of a challenge fic I'm doing with two friends, one of them have an account here - Silent Arrow<strong>, **aka Bella**

**The rules to the challenge are as follows:**

**Bella chooses for me a fandom I have never been in before, so something I know nothing about, which in this case, was K-ON.**

**She then chooses about five fics for me to read from that fandom, centred around a main pairing/characters (Mio and Ritsu)****.**

**And based on what I understand from the five fics, I need to create my own fanfiction****.**

**Please note that I am NOT in the K-ON fandom, ****s****o I don't know about the quality. It's missing a couple of scenes towards the end**** but since I was never going to finish it I decided to post this anyway, and its readable without them. Enjoy **

**Cat'n'mouse**


	2. Chapter 2

_Mio_

She woke to something pressed against her back, warm and soft and spreading heat throughout her body. Mio didn't need to turn around to know it was Ritsu snoring away.

She found Azusa reading and irritably pushing away Yui, who, while still asleep, persistently clung to a foot. The other girl tilted her head in a greeting and gave her leg another tug, annoyed face lit by the morning sun. Light seeped softly through the silky curtains, filling the room with an orange glow.

Ritsu mumbled incoherently when Mio gave her a gentle shake, but otherwise did not respond. Mio frowned a little, persisting in her efforts.

"Ritsu, Wake up. Ritsu –"

The blonde did a 180 degree turn, neatly flopping over and flinging an arm over Mio's waist. Mio felt heat flush through her cheeks, and she automatically wriggled for escape, hissing.

"Get_ off_, Ritsu. Come on, wake up."

It only succeeded in causing the arm to tighten as the other girl buried her face into her side, curling up into a ball and snuggling up close. Mio was positively crimson now, and frantically shot uncomfortable glances in Azusa's direction; all she received in return were sympathetic looks, and no forms of help.

"Get up, Ritsu, or I swear –"

Giggling interrupted her mid-sentence, and Ritsu lazily cracked open a hazel eye before grinning mischievously. She stuck her hand out for a thumb up, "Did you really think the great Tainaka Ritsu would remain sleeping for so long? Oh, how you have been fooled! It is much too beautiful a day –"

Thwack.

"Idiot!"

Mio leapt up from the mattress and turned away, right hand rolled into a fist. Despite her annoyance, the familiar scene brought a strange sense or reassurance, and she felt her lips lift a little. Her hands drifted to the small of her back, where Ritsu had tucked her face, and lingered in the residual heat. Sleeping all on the floor really wasn't the best idea, but…

Long term club sleepover, right. Mio shook her head; trust Ritsu to come up with this ridiculous thing just because it's the holidays. Trust Ritsu to be ridiculous first thing in the morning.

The scent of pancakes wafted from the open door and Mugi's voice ascended the stairs, calling for breakfast. Yui woke finally, smudging her cheeks on the pool of drool that has managed to pile at Azusa's feet. The younger girl recoiled immediately.

"Yui-sempai! That is so disgusting and unhygienic! You could –"

But Yui was already out the door and sprinting down the stairs. Azusa shook her head in exasperation and followed. Mio smiled.

She allowed her eyes to wonder, her gaze landing on an old photograph stuck on the wall. The colours were faded with age and a corner hangs off the wall lifelessly. It stood out against the multitude of posters and photos Ritsu had collected across the years, a faded yellow against vibrant hues.

Mio stretched out her fingers to touch the surface. It was rough and lumpy. Unease rose in her throat.

"Ritsu, what happened to this?"

Ritsu stood up with a stretch, and then darted her eyes around the room with exaggerated suspicion. She bent down, narrowed her eyes and whispered, "It's waging a war against me."

"Be serious."

"You think I'm not? How dare you think so lowly of –"

"Ritsu."

"You're so _boring_, Mio-chan." Ritsu sighed at the sight of the fist emerging from Mio's sleeves, "What is the world without some humour? What is the world without creativity? You will fade away before you even pass your prime!"

"_Ritsu._"

"Fine, _fine."_ The brunette pouted, "We had an argument – I tried to replace it, it refused to budge. So now we're at a standstill."

Satisfied with the answer, Mio rubbed her finger against the photo's edge. The paper stubbornly stuck to the wall, "I'll get it off."

"It's not too bad, "Ritsu shrugged, and then a grin crept over her face, "What is important now is the food! Pancakes! Come Mio, a world of paradise awaits us downstairs!"

But Mio couldn't just leave it there. She couldn't place her finger on the feeling – a mixture of hollowness and discomfort, a sense of wrongness like a break on a sheet where the pen has broken the paper and ink seeped through. It felt as if it didn't belong. The photo needed to go.

"It's a blemish in your room. I'll get it off for you."

Mio didn't see Ritsu's eyes widen a fraction, but she did hear the squeal when Ritsu threw her arms around her and rubbed her cheeks against Mio's own, "You do have a heart! Oh, the dangerous Mio-hime cares about this lowly Ritsu after all! Oh I can feel the love already!"

Heat crept back to Mio's cheeks, but she covered it with an annoyed scowl and shrugged off the shorter girl, "Go have your breakfast, idiot, or Yui will eat it all."

Predictably Rio jumped up with a howl. The outraged shrieked made her flinch, and Mio turned away when Ritsu flew down the stairs in pursuit of the rapidly decreasing pancakes. Her eyes were fixed on the photo, so she didn't see the other girl pause in the doorway.

She didn't see the concern dimming Ritsu's face before she turned away.


	3. Chapter 3

_Ritsu_

She was not an idiot, but she didn't mind if others thought otherwise.

Ritsu was an optimist. Always looking ahead, finding humour. She was a bit unorganized and a whole lot lazy, she knew that, but she also knew that she was _happy_. She would never have Mugi's kindness, or Azusa's skills, or even Yui's child-like enthusiasm at everything; but she was an optimist, and it was her job to counter balance Mio, to counter balance everyone else. It was her job to lead them on.

So When Mio peaked into the kitchen, eyes vacant and an expression of growing horror taking over the delicate features, she was the one that leapt from her seat, forced on a wide grin, and pinched the other girl's cheeks (deceptively hard).

Light snapped back into Mio's eyes, followed by confusion.

"Want your eyes checked?" Ritsu teased.

Mio whirled around to face her, characteristic annoyance gone, "what – but you weren't –" the words stumbled over each other, "you weren't there a moment ago!"

"You'll definitely need a check if you couldn't see four people sitting right in front of you." Ritsu joked, and stuck her trembling hands on her hips to steady them.

She knew more than anyone else, but she will stick this through.

She was an optimist, after all.

"Have you gone dumb as well as blind?" When Mio stayed silent, Ritsu fired an insult, half preparing for the beating that usually followed.

Nothing came in response.

"But I saw-"Mio withered a little under everyone's questioning gaze, "nothing. I must be seeing things."

"Ah! So you do know!" Ritsu stuck on a grin and laughed, steering Mio to the table. Her fingers curled into fists behind her back.

She _will _stick this through.

She caught Azusa's gaze when Mio slumped into a seat, and saw the beginning of understanding bloom in the girl's eye. It was more of a question, of a hint of something else that bordered on what could be counted as the truth, but still, Ritsu tore her gaze away.

They didn't need to know yet.

Ritsu was the optimist, and Ritsu was the one who can shoulder this alone. Azusa was smart, but she wouldn't stay behind, couldn't go against the limitations. Yui wouldn't understand; Mugi couldn't fake a grin when everything came crashing down; and Mio, Mio needed to accept it on her own.

Ritsu could hold them together while Mio slowly heals. Ritsu could stick it out.

She _will _stick it out.

She had apparently zoned out for too long, because when she looked around again Yui was latched around Azusa's neck, eyes mischievous and holding a spoonful of pancakes. The question in Azusa's face morphed into horror as the spoon went flying and the pancake smacked straight into the centre of Mio's forehead. Honey clung onto skin, dripping in slow motion. Down the nose, past the mouth, and down the chin.

Silence.

Ritsu erupted into cackles, while Mio's face slowly darkened to pink, to peach, and then a vivid crimson. The pancakes were suddenly not entering mouths but instead flying through the air, sliding down spoons and smacking the walls.

"I don't think these are meant to be used like this," Azusa said, just a little bit desperately because by now she should know what these people are capable of, and honestly, how was she supposed to stop it? "Breakfast is supposed to be calm, isn't it? Shouldn't we just…Eat? Quietly?"

"Oh, honey. You have been swept into the pit of misunderstanding that humanity has dug for itself!" Ritsu beamed, and was glad to let the disruption distract Mio from her melancholy, "this is an opportunity to get to know each other! To learn! To touch your souls with the beauty that is friendship!" She threw an arm around Mio, "isn't it, Mio-chuan?"

There was steam exiting Mio's ears. Mugi looked on with calm serenity.

It was not surprising when Mio's fist connected with Ritsu's cheeks.

The next hour passed in a storm of flying breakfast, Yui's howling laughter when Azusa tried – unsuccessfully – to throw her out the window, Mugi's slightly pink cheeks and Mio's attempts to find peace only to ensure more chaos. If Ritsu had a camera she would be snapping enough photos to make an album. She would title it 'Bonding Progressions'. Could've included shots of Azusa choking on juice while Yui attempted to shove fist sized balls of cream down her own throat, of Mugi's subtle nosebleed every time faces got a little too close, of herself performing increasingly difficult acrobatics to avoid Mio's punches.

She would be lying to say that she wasn't crying with laughter by the time the kitchen looked like a storm had swept through.

Azusa escaped the room like she's been scalded with hot water the minute Yui's grip on her waist loosened (only because Ritsu had sneakily suggested that they compare chest sizes with Mio) (That had earned her another beating, by the way), and Mugi had walked out in a hurry with her hands covering her lower face. And it wasn't really a surprise when Yui too bounded out with a "last on to leave cleans!" and a smile that is less blindingly exuberant and more filled with content warmth.

There were two more left in the wake of the silence that accompanied Yui's departure. Ritsu squashed down next to Mio, an arm over the other girl's shoulder.

"Now wasn't that some quality bonding time? And who's the genius that came up with all this?"

Mio didn't answer.

Ritsu leaned in close, partly because she could feel the tremors running just beneath Mio's skin and partly because the coldness was creeping back through the entrance, chasing the pink out of her cheeks.

"Shouldn't you go upstairs and keep them in check before Yui decides that your pillow needs a makeover to orange?" Ritsu nudged gently.

"Ritsu."

"What?"

"Don't. Okay?"

She waited, because she knew Mio would have more to say.

"Please. Just…Don't."

"Don't what-"

Mio suddenly turned around, throwing her arms around Ritsu's shoulders and burying her face into the brunette's neck. Ritsu felt her swallow, hard.

"Don't leave. Okay?"

Ritsu didn't answer. After a while, Mio got up and silently washed the dishes clean.


	4. Chapter 4

_Mio_

She really didn't see them when she came down the stairs. There was nothing wrong with her eyes, but _there was no one in the kitchen_. Mio wasn't dumb, or blind, and she saw Ritsu stuck her trembling hands behind her back, hide the haunted look that flashed through those eyes. She wasn't seeing things when she found a room empty.

She would've thought there were ghosts, but the mere thought of her friends gone frightened her more than any supernatural could. She grabbed a tissue while the others were occupied, and wiped the wet in her eyes clean.


	5. Chapter 5

_Mio_

That night, she dreamt of bodies. Of empty houses where noise should've been overwhelming and weeds overgrowing a perfectly manicured garden. She dreamt of metal crushing against metal, the sound of a drum set falling apart, and concrete soaked with blood. She dreamt of a black haired girl lying amongst the carnage.

When Mio peered into her eyes the blue orbs were glassy, but streaks of tears had left red marks along her face. She didn't respond when Mio gave her a shake, and it's only when Mio saw the others that she raised a hand to cover the sobs she hadn't even realized she'd been making.

The faceless blonde to the right lifted her hand in a vague wave before falling limp. Clinical lights and white hospital walls closed in claustrophobically. She couldn't hear anyone breathing.

Mio woke up drenched in sweat and tangled in the sheets. She forced her fingers to unravel its grip where she clung to the pillow, and it was horrible, really horrible because it felt real.

"Mio?" Ritsu mumbled, still half asleep. She looked blurry, transparent. Her face was as blank as a slate.

"You're not real. " Mio gasped out.

She watched the concern crease her face as Ritsu cracked open an eye, and she wanted to scream, because she could see right through it, through her friend and to the photograph in the background.

"What's wrong?" The hands that reached for her were translucent, and Mio flinched away when they made contact with her skin. Ritsu was cold, frosty cold, like a winter's gust that could sweep through her and chill her blood into ice, that could strip her from her flesh to bare bones.

"Hey, it's okay. I promise." Ritsu whispered softly.

Mio wanted to push her away, to ask if she believed in ghosts and spirits, if existence was perpetual or if the soul is destroyed with each death. She wanted to ask where the drums were.

But Ritsu's hands were cupping against her cheeks, soft and sweet and _solid_, and in the depth of her eyes Mio could see the worry, so she held onto the hand like a lifeline and fell back with a grateful sigh.

* * *

><p>The next morning Mio woke early, and prayed the entire way down the stairs for no one else to be awake.<p>

When she stepped into the doorway her brain gave a silent aneurism, because sitting on the counter and calmly sipping coffee was Ritsu, who looked so uncharacteristic without her headband and is up so early in the morning that Mio had to stop and stare.

"Don't recognise your bestie?" Ritsu raised an eyebrow, "I'm hurt, Mio-chan."

Mio shot her a sullen glance, but was grateful when either she didn't remember or chose not to bring up last night.

"Aw, don't be so down." The brunette smiled. It lacked the usual energy, but Mio was too tired herself to bring it up. She sunk into a chair, slouching over the counter, letting her eyes close and bathing in the morning rays.

Behind her, Ritsu shifted, clothes rustling against skin. Mio felt the drummer lean in to wrap an arm over her shoulders, and Mio suppressed a shiver than ran down her spine. She wanted to lean into Ritsu's arms. She really did.

(A flash of the blank faces, the transparent limbs)

(Mio wondered if she'd fall right through her friend)

The thundering steps down stairs signalled Yui's waking, and true to the sound, a brown head poked around the corner. She stretched like a cat, and then bounced over, Azusa in toll.

"Mio-chan!" Yui shouted, because apparently she was incapable of any volume lower than 'deafen thy neighbours', "you look so gloomy!"

Mio tried to smile, but against Yui's exuberance it was a weak twitch of the lips. She settled for a nod instead while Ritsu offered a grin and an insult mixed into a good morning.

"Good morning, Mio, Ritsu." Mugi added, gliding in with hands holding a plate full of cupcakes. Yui let go of Azusa with a shriek and dived for the food.

Ritsu leapt off the counter, and within seconds the two were smothered in icing and crumbs. Mio made a physical effort to scrub the image from her mind and told herself that technically, Ritsu's brain cannot possibly become more damaged so it shouldn't matter if she took a few extra hits to the head.

She resisted the urge to stick out the fist.

"So, Mio-sempai, how did you sleep?" Azusa wondered over in the wake of the noise, as Ritsu beamed her icing-covered teeth at everyone and Mio seriously considered throwing her out the window.

"What?" Mio asked, "um, alright."

Yui paused in her ravenous consumption to cock her head to the side, "Azu-sempai! Feeling so caring this morning!"

"Why do you ask?" Ritsu said and laughed a little, "that's a little out of the blue."

Mio narrowed her eyes, because she's not stupid, and Ritsu was not as good at hiding the defensiveness in her voice as she thought she was.

"Just wondering, that's all." Azusa shrugged, and Mio thought that she's not so good at hiding her careful deliberations either.

Ritsu grinned, it was bright, full of crumbs and took up half the girl's face. Mio wondered why it looked so brittle.

"I want more!" Yui injected into the silent tension that had built up, holding the last cupcake and swallowing it whole (chewing seems a foreign concept to her. Mio has never seen Yui do anything other than to consume food in their entirety), "these taste like the rainbow, Mugi! Azu-nyan, don't you agree?"

Azusa shot her a look that said I am only agreeing to avoid further whining, and nodded. Her plan didn't seem so successful, because Yui leapt onto her shoulders and reinforced definition of glomping for Mio, messing up Azusa's hair and pulling at her cheeks. The younger girl struggled uselessly.

Mio sighed at the familiar scene.

"I'm so glad you like them," Mugi smiled, serene and content, "I'll grab more right away."

"You're the best!"

Ritsu began to laugh, and Mio found herself echoing it softly. Their smiles mirror and Mio wondered, in that moment, why it only felt right when they were all together like this.

(Of course, Mugi left within the next ten minutes at Yui's insistence, off to the bakery that held the cupcakes that tasted like rainbows)

The sun passed over the highest point of the sky and the clock chimed with midday. The four sat around the kitchen table, waiting.

And waiting.

* * *

><p>They were quiet, her friends.<p>

They're never really been before.

Yui was always loud and Ritsu's mouth never quite stopped moving (Mio had taken note. There were pages and pages of memories, of Ritsu eating, laughing, yelling, cheering, of Ritsu's beaming face with sparking teeth) and Azusa, even Azusa always had something to say, berating Yui for one thing or another.

The one time Ritsu was quiet, Mio had spun around and spluttered things that now makes her want to bury her face in the dirt, things like _what's wrong_ and _what did I do, did I do something wrong, _and _please don't quit on me, I wouldn't know what to do._

Ritsu was quiet now, and Yui was looking at Azusa with this lost expression and Azusa didn't know what to say either, save to look away and let Yui clutch her hand tight.

"Come on guys, Mugi's probably just got distracted by some mega cake or something, "Ritsu joked. Her voice rang hollow.

But Mugi's been gone for hours and Mio's stomach was sinking with this pool of dread. The back of her eyes were beginning to wet, but she shoved it away because she needed to stay strong, not just for her but for everyone else. The worry was palpable in the living room air.

Mio could feel the tension that meant Yui was going to do something. She hasn't yet, and her face was a truly hilarious caricature of barely held restraint, but of course she was going to.

"What if Mugi doesn't –"

Azusa sent her a look that is sharp like shattered glass, and Yui choked because Azusa's never looked at her that way before. The guitarist shrank back immediately, but the sharpness had pierced the air and even Ritsu had doubled back, though Mio think that's more due to the understanding that they both shared in their eyes. She wished that for once that she knew what reassuring things to say, and if only Mugi was here to be kind. Of course, if Mugi was here, the silence wouldn't be so heavy.

The wet was back in her eyes, but she held it back because she couldn't be the one to break.

They needed to be strong for each other.

Ritsu stood up, and Mio could see the physical effort she exerted to lift her lips for a grin.

"Well, we can't just sit here and be gloomy; we'll become wrinkled old trolls. Let's go make some lunch!"

Yui brightened immediately at the prospect of food, and followed Ritsu out with a lift to her steps. Mio was glad that at least someone could distract themselves from the heaviness that weighed in the house, though she herself could never lighten so easily. Like Mio, Azusa too lingered behind.

"What do you think, Mio-sempai?"

"About what?"

Azusa was silent for a moment, "Mugi-sempai. Do you think she'll be back?"

Mio wanted to say yes, but the word stopped at her lips.

"Yeah." Azusa muttered. Her voice had trembled, but hair shadowed her eyes so her expression was hidden. She cleared her throat, "me too."

And then, with a little hesitation.

"I'm sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

_Ritsu_

When Yui took Azusa's attention by flinging icing into the black haired girl's face, Ritsu snuck quietly away from the dining table. In the absence of Mugi, they had taken shelter in the comfort of cakes and the warmth of the kitchen, distracting their worry with careless banter. They had filed out of the lounge with Ritsu's lead, but Mio never followed from the couch, and behind the grinning façade, Ritsu could feel her heart tighten in concern.

She found a trail of footsteps leading from the laundry to upstairs, following it and absentmindedly finding the image rather horror-movie-like. A bitter smile ghosted her lips – they'd all fit perfectly into a horror after all, sticking around after their time. Imagine Mio's face when she saw the ghosts; imagine when the bassist saw through them for what they really were. Imagine the shock, and the grief, and the hurt.

It really wasn't funny at all.

Ritsu sighed and wiped the sombre thought from her mind, forcing a beam onto her face. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but then again, she needed to be strong and the others seemed to draw strength from her smile. They really did have limited time, and she intended the memories to be happy.

(A voice at the back of her head whispered that there was really no point in trying, that Azusa at least could see through her pretence, but Ritsu had long since learned to ignore what negativity had to offer and carry on regardless)

(She tried hard to not wonder about what Mio thought)

Ritsu shook her head to clear her mind, and found Mio squatting on the bedroom floor, back towards the door and a hand dipped in a bucket of water. Her other hand worked furiously away against the wall. Ritsu didn't need to check to see what it was.

Her chest constricted with a painful force, and without hesitation she rushed forward to stop Mio in her motion. The other girl's gaze was vacant, unseeing, and the thin trail of blood dripping from her fingertips to the bamboo flooring was more than enough evidence for Ritsu to tear Mio away from her task. The drummer threw the cloth aside and grabbed Mio's hands, raw and streaked with crimson.

Mio made the noise of an injured animal when Ritsu grabbed her around the waist, but the drummer's strong arms pinned her struggles down. Ritsu pulled Mio backwards into her chest and encased the small hands within her own, and Mio folded like a puppet with strings cut.

They sat like that for a while, with Mio sagged against Ritsu, tremors running through her body. Ritsu held her friend until Mio let out the final choked sob and released the drummer's hands, and then they took the cloth and the bucket together, leaving the photograph to its lonely seat on the wall.

No one else knew, but the corner of the photo had come off during the night. Ritsu had found it loose when she got up to watch the stars, before her time ran out as well.


	7. Chapter 7

_Mio_

"We should look for her." Yui bit her lips, unsure for the first time. Her voice was alarmingly quiet, but still hopeful, "The police – maybe she got lost, her parents will be concerned too."

Mio saw the fleeting panic that flashed across Ritsu's expression, before being replaced by a false confidence. It looked so brittle she could feel the cracks across the façade, and Mio wondered when they started appearing across Ritsu's grins.

"She's fine, I know she is." Ritsu slung an arm across Mio's shoulder, and amongst all the fake smiles and reassuring lies Mio found the truth ringing in the statement.

But Mio wanted to search for Mugi as well, and she wanted to know how Ritsu could so calmly declare her to be fine when they haven't seen the girl in days.

A sense of dread sunk into Mio's stomach as Yui pushed the door open with a flourish and a leap to her steps. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, but all that's in her mind was the feeling of _wrongness_ and the need for her to stop. They weren't meant to leave. She was sure of it. They can't –

Yui skipped outside, and for a moment there was a peaceful pause and Mio thought, in just that one second, that maybe she was wrong and everything is okay, but then the clouds parted and sunlight came beaming through, and she saw the tree behind the girl through her body.

Mio felt sick to the stomach, and in that horrifying moment she realized that she was looking _through_ her friend. She wanted to rub her eyes or close them or do something that'll make it go away, but part of her knew that this was real, that it was happening. That it was supposed to happen.

"_No._"

The whisper escaped her lips like a curse when she staggered forward, hand reaching to touch Yui in a desperate act to deny the reality. She stretched forward, but then her fingers closed around empty air and Yui was as clear as glass and she desperately looked to the others for some kind of support – and all she saw in her friends' eyes were sombre understanding.

Yui was gone that afternoon, in a slowly disintegrating dance of flower petals that tore Mio's heart into shreds.


	8. Chapter 8

_Mio_

She scrubbed until her fingers bled, but the other half stuck on willfully. Mio gritted her teeth – she'd try again tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

_Ritsu_

She could feel the vast emptiness stretching across the house, and the taste of urgency rises from her throat, bitter and lingering. But Mio was not alright, and Ritsu had to do something – she'd already overstayed her welcome, but Tainaka Ritsu would never leave any of her friends alone, time be damned.


	10. Chapter 10

_Mio_

"Why, is the dangerous Mio so down that she can't even think of a comeback?" Ritsu teased her, but the words were hollow and rang without humour. Mio leaned back into the chair and refused to acknowledge Ritsu, _refused to acknowledge the pieces of reality spiralling together, fitting like puzzles in which the her friends don't –_

Mio leaned back into the chair and squeezed her eyes shut, but even if she blocked out the world it doesn't stop the flow of time. She felt Ritsu lean in, chin against her head and thin fingers tangling through her hair, and held onto the warmth from the drummer's hands.

An eternity of warmth dangled between Ritsu's fingers, and Mio could not bear to let go. But the clock was ticking and Mio finally understood that they shouldn't have lingered at all, understood that she should let them go, because they shouldn't have been here in the first place.

Mio was practical, after all, and nothing lasts for eternity. So she sat still, and after a while she opened her eyes and enveloped the blond in a tight embrace, and then, with trembling fingers locked around Ritsu's hand, headed towards the doorway.

* * *

><p>Azusa raised her hand in the form of a wave, and then scattered in a bright shower of colours. Mio opened her mouth for a scream but only half of the sound made its way out of her throat before a sob choked it back. She desperately reached out a hand to grasp the last wisp that was her friend, to touch the air where Azusa was a second ago, to <em>take her<em> –

Ritsu pulled her back, and in those strong arms she was suddenly powerless, sagging and falling but never reaching the ground. Sobs blocked her throat, and all she could think was _why, why, why, why did they have to go _and _not Ritsu too, please by the Gods not Ritsu as well. _And that they all left her back in the house, on the freckled lawn, alone, alone, _alone._

"I have to go too." Ritsu smiled, serious and tender and so uncharacteristic that Mio _hated _it, hated the good bye that was written between the lines, hated finality in the words because _the chapters couldn't just end here_, "Please, Mio. Stay strong. Let us go. We'll see each other again soon."

But Mio couldn't just leave it there, and she couldn't let go of Ritsu's hand because it was just wrong, and she didn't _want to–_

And Ritsu leaned in, slowly but surely, pressing her lips against Mio's nose because she was she was too short for the forehead, and Mio was dimly aware of the softness, of the warmth, of the lingering imprint even when Ritsu pulled away – and Mio suddenly understood.

"Try warm water." Ritsu's breath was warm against her cheek, and Mio pulled her arms around the drummer, tight because she couldn't bear the thought of farewell; tight because she too understood the finality, that RItsu really had lingered on too long; tight, because it didn't matter if the past weeks were in her head or real or if they were ghosts that stayed behind, because they were her friends, and Ritsu, god, she loved Ritsu too much to just let her go.

Mio felt Ritsu squeeze her arms, and she was gone before the goodbye left Mio's lips.


	11. Chapter 11

_Epilogue_

There is a house.

Its hedges are overgrown and weeds took over the flowers. Its floors are dusty except a lone trail of footsteps winding into the bathroom and up the stairs. The air still smells of love, stale and almost gone, and the intruder's scent forms a clear path.

Mio covers the photograph with a damp warm cloth, and holds it there until she feels it start to cool. When she uncovers the paper it is wet and simple to peel, and it comes off clean, unbelievable easy after her days of desperate scrubbing that yielded no results. She holds the scraps in her palm, breathes in the scent, and tosses them out the window.

There is a crack.

It stands alone on a bare wall, stark against the simple white. It runs down onto the floor, down the stairs and into the garden. It runs into the girl.

For Mio, the crack is still there. But she likes to think that after the ghosts are gone it is a little better. She likes to think that while it will never close, it is starting to heal.


End file.
